2 Notes Unless otherwise indicated, all years referred to in describing the budget outlook are federal fiscal years, which run from October 1 to September 30, and are designated by the calendar year in which they end. Years referred to in describing the economic outlook are calendar years. Numbers in the text and tables may not add up to totals because of rounding. Also, some values are expressed as fractions to indicate numbers rounded to amounts greater than one-tenth of a percentage point. Some figures in this report have vertical bars that indicate the duration of recessions. (A recession extends from the peak of a business cycle to its trough.) The economic forecast was completed in early July, and, unless otherwise indicated, estimates presented in Chapter 2 and Appendix B of this report are based on information available at that time. In particular, the economic forecast described in this report does not reflect the annual revisions to the national income and product accounts, which were released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis on July 30. In Chapter 2, only figures and discussions of recent events are consistent with the revised data. The implications of those revisions for s projections are described in Box 2-1. As referred to in this report, the Affordable Care Act comprises the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Public Law ), the health care provisions of the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (P.L ), and the effects of subsequent judicial decisions, statutory changes, and administrative actions. Supplemental data for this analysis are available on s website ( ), as is a glossary of common budgetary and economic terms ( ).

3 Contents Summary 1 The Budget Deficit for 2015 Will Be Smaller Than Last Year s 1 Rising Deficits After 2018 Are Projected to Gradually Boost Debt Relative to GDP 2 The Economy Is Expected to Grow Modestly This Year and at a Solid Pace for the Next Few Years 5 1 The 2 The A Changes Budget Outlook 9 The Budget Outlook for s Baseline Budget Projections for 2016 to Alternative Assumptions About Fiscal Policy 25 Changes in s Baseline Projections Since March Economic Outlook 29 The Economic Outlook for 2015 Through BOX 2-1: RECENT REVISIONS TO THE NATIONAL INCOME AND PRODUCT ACCOUNTS 32 The Economic Outlook for 2020 Through Projections of Income 53 Some Uncertainties in the Economic Outlook 54 Comparison With s January 2015 Projections 55 Comparison With Other Economic Projections 58 to s Baseline Since March B s Economic Projections for 2015 to List of Tables and Figures 72 About This Document 73

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5 Summary According to the Congressional Budget Office s estimates, this year s deficit will be noticeably smaller than what the agency projected in March, and fiscal year 2015 will mark the sixth consecutive year in which the deficit has declined as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) since it peaked in Over the next 10 years, however, the budget outlook remains much the same as described earlier this year: If current laws generally remain unchanged, within a few years the deficit will begin to rise again relative to GDP, and by 2025, debt held by the public will be higher relative to the size of the economy than it is now. s economic forecast, which serves as the basis for its budget projections, anticipates that the economy will expand modestly this year, at a solid pace in calendar years 2016 and 2017, and at a more moderate pace in subsequent years. The pace of growth over the next few years is expected to reduce the quantity of underused resources, or slack, in the economy, lowering the unemployment rate and putting upward pressure on compensation as well as on inflation and interest rates. The Budget Deficit for 2015 Will Be Smaller Than Last Year s At $426 billion, estimates, the 2015 deficit will be $59 billion less than the deficit last year (which was $485 billion) and $60 billion less than estimated in March (see Summary Table 1). 1 The expected shortfall for 2015 would constitute the smallest since 2007, and at 2.4 percent of gross domestic product, it would be below the average deficit (relative to the size of the economy) over the past 50 years. Debt held by the public will remain around 74 percent of GDP by the end of 2015, 1. For s projections in March, see Congressional Budget Office, Updated Budget Projections: 2015 to 2025 (March 2015), estimates slightly less than the ratio last year but higher than in any other year since Outlays Federal outlays are projected to rise by 5 percent this year, to $3.7 trillion, or 20.6 percent of GDP. That increase is the net result of a nearly 10 percent jump in mandatory spending, offset by lower net interest payments and discretionary outlays. anticipates that mandatory outlays will be $199 billion higher in 2015 than they were last year. Federal spending for the major health care programs accounts for a little more than half of that increase: Outlays for Medicare (net of premiums and other offsetting receipts), Medicaid, the Children s Health Insurance Program, and subsidies for health insurance purchased through exchanges and related spending are expected to be $110 billion (12 percent) higher this year than they were in In addition, outlays related to the government s transactions with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and for higher education programs will be greater than the amounts recorded last year. 2 Those increases will be partially offset by increased receipts from auctions of licenses to use the electromagnetic spectrum and by reduced spending for unemployment compensation. Even though federal borrowing continues to rise, expects that the government s net interest costs will fall by nearly 5 percent this year mainly because lower inflation this year has reduced the cost of the Treasury s inflation-protected securities. 2. expects that payments from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to the Treasury will be smaller this year than they were last year. Because those payments are recorded as offsetting receipts, which reduce outlays, the change boosts outlays.

6 2 AN UPDATE TO THE BUDGET AND ECONOMIC OUTLOOK: 2015 TO 2025 AUGUST 2015 Summary Table 1. s Baseline Budget Projections Total Actual, In Billions of Dollars Revenues 3,021 3,251 3,514 3,628 3,730 3,847 4,004 4,164 4,359 4,560 4,772 4,999 18,723 41,577 Outlays 3,506 3,677 3,928 4,044 4,184 4,443 4,690 4,931 5,244 5,455 5,657 6,007 21,289 48,584 Deficit ,008-2,566-7,007 Debt Held by the Public at the End of the Year 12,780 13,175 13,821 14,338 14,864 15,528 16,277 17,102 18,044 18,993 19,933 21,001 n.a. n.a. As a Percentage of Gross Domestic Product Revenues Outlays Deficit Debt Held by the Public at the End of the Year n.a. n.a. Source: Note: Congressional Budget Office. n.a. = not applicable. anticipates that discretionary spending, which is controlled through annual appropriations, will be about 1 percent less in 2015 than it was in By the agency s estimates, defense outlays will drop by more than 2 percent, whereas nondefense discretionary outlays will be only slightly below last year s amount. Revenues Federal revenues are expected to climb by 8 percent in 2015, to $3.3 trillion, or 18.2 percent of GDP. Revenues from all major sources will rise, including individual income taxes (by 10 percent), corporate income taxes (by 8 percent), and payroll taxes (by 4 percent). Revenues from other sources are estimated to increase, on net, by 5percent. The largest increase in that category derives from fees and fines, mostly as a result of provisions of the Affordable Care Act. Changes From the March Projections Receipts from individual and corporate income taxes have been greater than anticipated, which largely explains the $60 billion reduction in the projected deficit for 2015; revisions to s estimates of outlays had almost no net effect. Rising Deficits After 2018 Are Projected to Gradually Boost Debt Relative to GDP In s baseline projections, the budget shortfall declines to $414 billion next year but then rises substantially, to $1.0 trillion in By those estimates, which incorporate the assumption that current laws will generally remain the same, the combination of significant growth in spending on health care and retirement programs and rising interest payments on federal debt would outpace growth in revenues. The outlook for the 10-year projection period does not differ substantially from the one described in March. As in the previous projections, deficits as a percentage of GDP are estimated to remain below this year s level for the next three years but then begin to rise. In s current baseline, the deficit falls to 2.1 percent of GDP in 2017, but in the latter half of the decade, deficits average 3.5 percent of GDP (see Summary Table 2). The cumulative deficit between 2016 and 2025 is $7.0 trillion. Such deficits would push debt held by the public up to 77 percent by the end of the 10-year projection period, roughly twice the average it has been over the past five decades (see Summary Figure 1). Beyond 2025, if current

7 SUMMARY AN UPDATE TO THE BUDGET AND ECONOMIC OUTLOOK: 2015 TO Summary Table 2. Key Projections in s Baseline Percentage of Gross Domestic Product Projected Annual Average Revenues Individual income taxes Payroll taxes Corporate income taxes Other Total Revenues Outlays Mandatory Major health care programs a Social Security Other mandatory programs Subtotal Discretionary Net interest Total Outlays Deficit Debt Held by the Public at the End of the Period Memorandum: Social Security Revenues b Outlays c Contribution to the Federal Deficit d Medicare Revenues Outlays c Offsetting receipts Contribution to the Federal Deficit d Source: Congressional Budget Office. a. Includes Medicare (net of premiums and other offsetting receipts), Medicaid, the Children s Health Insurance Program, and subsidies for health insurance purchased through exchanges and related spending. b. Includes payroll taxes other than those paid by the federal government (which are intragovernmental transactions). Also includes income taxes paid on Social Security benefits, which are credited to the trust funds. c. Does not include outlays related to administration of the program, which are discretionary. For Social Security, outlays do not include intragovernmental offsetting receipts stemming from payroll taxes paid by federal government employers to the Social Security trust fund. d. The contribution to the federal deficit shown in this table differs from the changes in the trust fund balances for the associated programs. It does not include intragovernmental transactions, interest earned on balances, and outlays related to administration of the programs.

8 4 AN UPDATE TO THE BUDGET AND ECONOMIC OUTLOOK: 2015 TO 2025 AUGUST 2015 Summary Figure 1. Federal Debt Held by the Public Percentage of Gross Domestic Product 120 Actual Projected Source: Congressional Budget Office. laws remained in place, the same pressures that contribute to rising deficits during the baseline period would accelerate and push debt up sharply relative to GDP. Such high and rising debt would have serious negative consequences for the nation: When interest rates returned to more typical, higher levels, federal spending on interest payments would increase substantially. Because federal borrowing reduces national saving over time, the nation s capital stock would ultimately be smaller, and productivity and total wages would be lower than they would be if the debt was smaller. Lawmakers would have less flexibility than otherwise to use tax and spending policies to respond to unexpected challenges. Continued growth in the debt might lead investors to doubt the government s willingness or ability to pay its obligations, which would require the government to pay much higher interest rates on its borrowing. Outlays In s projections, federal outlays remain near 21 percent of GDP for the next several years. Later in the coming decade, under current law, growth in outlays would outstrip growth in the economy; outlays would rise to 22 percent of GDP in 2022 and remain at that level through (Over the past 50 years, outlays have averaged about 20 percent of GDP.) That trend reflects significant growth in mandatory spending particularly in federal spending for health care, Social Security, and interest payments offset somewhat by a decline (relative to the size of the economy) in spending subject to annual appropriations. Outlays for mandatory programs are projected to rise from their current level of near 13 percent of GDP to 14 percent by the latter part of the projection period. That increase is mainly attributable to significant growth in spending on health care and retirement programs caused by the aging of the population and rising per capita health care costs. In s baseline, between 2015 and 2025, federal outlays for the government s major health care programs, measured as a share of GDP, rise by 1 percentage point, whereas outlays for Social Security grow by 0.7 percentage points. All other mandatory spending falls relative to the size of the economy. The government s interest payments on debt held by the public are projected to rise sharply over the next 10 years because of two factors: rising interest rates and growing federal debt. Because interest rates are now very low by historical standards, net outlays for interest are similar to amounts recorded 15 to 20 years ago, when federal debt was much smaller. As those rates rise, and as debt continues to mount, the government s cost of financing that debt will climb.

9 SUMMARY AN UPDATE TO THE BUDGET AND ECONOMIC OUTLOOK: 2015 TO By contrast, discretionary spending is projected to drop from 6.5 percent of GDP this year to 5.1 percent in That projection incorporates the assumption that the caps on budget authority originally set by the Budget Control Act of 2011, as subsequently reduced, will stay in place through Revenues Revenues are projected to rise to almost 19 percent of GDP in 2016, primarily because several provisions of law expired at the end of calendar year Under provisions of current law, revenues would recede to roughly this year s percentage of GDP by 2019, estimates. That drop stems mostly from an expectation that corporate profits as a share of GDP will decline in the coming years in the wake of rising costs of labor and interest payments on businesses debt. In addition, in s projections, remittances to the Treasury from the Federal Reserve which have been unusually high since 2010 return to more typical levels. Those factors are only partially offset by the continued increase (relative to GDP) of receipts from individual income taxes. That increase causes s projections of overall receipts to rise slowly in relation to GDP after 2021, though they still remain close to 18 percent of GDP through Changes From s Previous Budget Projections s current baseline projections of the deficit for the coming decade are somewhat smaller than the amounts the agency estimated in March Over the period, the cumulative deficit is about $200 billion lower, the net result of estimates for outlays and revenues that are lower by $372 billion and $170 billion, respectively. Most of the reduction on the outlay side of the budget ledger stems from lower net interest costs, which occur because s forecast for interest rates is now lower than it was before. Estimates of spending for some mandatory programs are also lower as a result of smaller projected cost-of-living adjustments. Those reductions in spending are partly offset by the estimated increase in outlays resulting from the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 and various other revisions to the projections. Technical adjustments account for the largest changes to s revenue projections, reducing them by $236 billion through 2025 from the amounts estimated in March. Higher-than-expected tax collections in recent months caused to increase its revenue projections for the next two years, but other factors, including new information from tax returns, caused the agency to reduce its projections for the later years of the 10-year period. The effects of those technical changes were partially offset by the revised economic outlook, including a slightly higher projection for wages and salaries and a slightly lower projection for interest rates. The Economy Is Expected to Grow Modestly This Year and at a Solid Pace for the Next Few Years Although real (inflation-adjusted) GDP grew weakly early in 2015, recent data indicate that the economy is now on firmer ground, and expects the pace of economic activity to pick up in the second half of this calendar year and over the next few years. After that, the agency anticipates moderate economic growth, constrained by relatively slow growth in the labor force. The Economic Outlook for 2015 Through 2019 Under the assumption that current laws governing federal taxes and spending will generally remain in place, the agency projects that real GDP will grow by 2.0 percent this calendar year, by 3.1 percent in 2016, and by 2.7 percent in 2017, as measured by the change from the fourth quarter of the previous year (see Summary Figure 2). For 2018 and 2019, the agency projects that the economy will grow at an average annual rate of 2.2 percent. In s estimation, the economic expansion through 2019 will be driven primarily by increases in consumer spending, business investment, and residential investment. With that faster pace of growth in output, slack in the labor market which is indicated by such factors as an elevated unemployment rate and a relatively low rate of participation in the labor force is expected to dissipate over the next few years. According to s projections, the unemployment rate will fall from 5.2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2015 to 5.0 percent in the fourth quarter of As slack in the labor market diminishes and firms must increasingly compete for a shrinking pool of unemployed or underemployed workers, growth in hourly compensation is expected to pick up. The upward pressure on compensation will encourage some people to enter or stay in the labor force, in s estimation. That development will slow the longer-term decline in labor force participation, which is the result of both underlying demographic trends and federal policies, but it will also slow the fall of the unemployment rate.

10 6 AN UPDATE TO THE BUDGET AND ECONOMIC OUTLOOK: 2015 TO 2025 AUGUST 2015 Summary Figure 2. Actual Values and s Projections of Key Economic Indicators anticipates that the economy will expand modestly this year, at a solid pace in calendar years 2016 and 2017, and at a more moderate pace in subsequent years, lowering the unemployment rate and putting upward pressure on inflation and interest rates. Percent 6 Growth of Real GDP Actual Projected Percent 12 Unemployment Rate Actual Projected Percentage Change in Prices 5 Inflation Actual Projected Percent 7 Interest Rates Actual Projected 4 3 Overall Year Treasury Notes Month Treasury Bills 2 1 Core Sources: Congressional Budget Office; Bureau of Economic Analysis; Bureau of Labor Statistics; Federal Reserve. Notes: Real gross domestic product is the output of the economy adjusted to remove the effects of inflation. The unemployment rate is a measure of the number of jobless people who are available for work and are actively seeking jobs, expressed as a percentage of the labor force. The overall inflation rate is based on the price index for personal consumption expenditures; the core rate excludes prices for food and energy. Data are annual. For real GDP and inflation, values from 2000 through 2014 (the thin lines) reflect revisions to the national income and product accounts that the Bureau of Economic Analysis released on July 30, Values from 2014 through 2025 (the thick lines) reflect the data available and projections made before July 30. Percentage changes are measured from the fourth quarter of one calendar year to the fourth quarter of the next year. GDP = gross domestic product.

11 SUMMARY AN UPDATE TO THE BUDGET AND ECONOMIC OUTLOOK: 2015 TO Over the next few years, reduced slack in the economy will put upward pressure on inflation and interest rates. Nevertheless, expects the rate of inflation (as measured by the price index for personal consumption expenditures [PCE]) to stay below the Federal Reserve s goal of 2 percent through mid-2017 an outcome that is consistent with some remaining but diminishing slack in the economy and with widely held expectations for low and stable inflation. anticipates that the interest rate on 3-month Treasury bills, which has been near zero since the end of 2009, will begin increasing in the second half of 2015 and rise to 3.4 percent by the end of The rate on 10-year Treasury notes, expects, will rise from an average of 2.4 percent in the second half of 2015 to 4.2 percent by the end of The Economic Outlook for 2020 Through 2025 s projections for the latter half of the coming decade are not based on forecasts of cyclical developments in the economy, but rather on projections of underlying trends of indicators such as growth in the labor force, the number of hours worked, and productivity. By those projections, both actual output of the economy and potential (maximum sustainable) output will expand at an annual average rate of 2.1 percent, faster than the estimated 1.5 percent average annual growth in potential GDP during the current business cycle so far (that is, between 2008 and 2014). The projected pace is slower than it was in the 1980s, 1990s, and early 2000s, though, primarily because the labor force is expected to grow more slowly than it did then. Real GDP is projected to be about onehalf of one percent below real potential GDP from 2020 through 2025, reflecting the historical average over the several business cycles between 1961 and Corresponding to that projected gap between output and potential output, in s projections the unemployment rate over the period at 5¼ percent remains slightly above the natural rate (the rate arising from all sources except fluctuations in the overall demand for goods and services). Inflation (as measured by the PCE price index) is expected to average 2.0 percent per year, and interest rates for 3-month Treasury bills and 10-year Treasury notes are projected to average 3.3 percent and 4.3 percent, respectively. Those rates would be well above current rates but below average rates over the 25 years before the most recent recession. Compared with those historical levels, projected interest rates will be dampened by lower inflation as well as by slower growth in the labor force and slightly slower growth of productivity. Changes From s Previous Economic Projections s current economic projections differ in certain respects from those the agency released in January now projects slower growth of real GDP this year and slightly faster growth between 2016 through 2019 than it did in those previous projections. In addition, unemployment rates and long-term interest rates are lower over the period in s current projections than they were in January s. Inflation is now estimated to be lower this year and next year than was previously expected. 3. See Congressional Budget Office, The Budget and Economic Outlook: 2015 to 2025 (January 2015),

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13 CHAPTER 1 The Budget Outlook The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the federal budget deficit in fiscal year 2015 will be $426 billion, smaller than the $486 billion shortfall the agency estimated in March That amount would constitute the smallest deficit since 2007, and at 2.4 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), it would be below the average deficit, relative to the size of the economy, over the past 50 years. Moreover, 2015 will mark the sixth consecutive year in which the deficit has declined as a percentage of GDP since it reached a peak at 9.8 percent in 2009 (see Figure 1-1). Nevertheless, debt held by the public will remain near 74 percent of GDP at the end of 2015, estimates about the same as last year, when it reached the highest ratio since As specified in law, constructs its baseline projections of federal revenues and spending under the assumption that current laws will generally remain unchanged. If that assumption was borne out, the period of shrinking deficits would soon come to an end. In s baseline projections, annual budget shortfalls rise substantially over the projection period from a low of $414 billion in 2016 to $1.0 trillion in That increase is projected mainly because growth in revenues would be outpaced by a combination of significant growth in spending on health care and retirement programs caused by the aging of the population and rising per capita health care costs and growing interest payments on federal debt. expects that deficits during the decade would total $7.0 trillion if current laws remained unchanged (see Table 1-1). Deficits are projected to fall to about 2 percent of GDP between 2016 and 2018 and then to begin rising again, 1. See Congressional Budget Office, Updated Budget Projections: 2015 to 2025 (March 2015), 2. s updated baseline projections incorporate the effects of legislation and administrative actions through August 6, reaching almost 4 percent at the end of the 10-year period. By comparison, the deficit averaged 2.7 percent of GDP between 1965 and Over the next 10 years, revenues and outlays alike are projected to be above their 50-year averages as measured relative to GDP (see Figure 1-2). In s current baseline projections, federal debt held by the public remains about the same relative to the size of the economy over the next several years but eventually begins to grow slowly, reaching 77 percent of GDP by 2025 roughly twice the 38 percent average of the past five decades. Beyond 2025, if current laws remained in place, the same pressures that contribute to rising deficits during the coming decade would accelerate and push debt up sharply relative to GDP. 3 Such high and rising debt would have serious negative consequences both for the economy and for the federal budget. When interest rates rise to more typical levels as expects will be the case in the next few years federal spending on interest payments will increase considerably. Moreover, federal borrowing boosts the overall demand for funds, and that in turn generally raises the cost of borrowing and reduces the amount of lending in the economy at large. The eventual result would be a smaller stock of capital and lower output and income than would otherwise be the case, all else being equal. In addition, the large amount of debt could restrict policymakers ability to use tax and spending policies to respond to unexpected challenges, such as economic downturns or financial crises. Finally, continued growth in the debt might lead investors to doubt the government s willingness or ability to pay its obligations, which would require the government to pay much higher interest rates on its borrowing. 3. For a more detailed discussion, see Congressional Budget Office, The 2015 Long-Term Budget Outlook (June 2015), publication/50250.

14 10 AN UPDATE TO THE BUDGET AND ECONOMIC OUTLOOK: 2015 TO 2025 AUGUST 2015 Figure 1-1. Total Deficits or Surpluses Because outlays are projected to grow faster than revenues after 2018, projected deficits increase to almost 4 percent of gross domestic product from 2022 through Percentage of Gross Domestic Product 4 2 Surpluses Actual Projected Average Deficit, 1965 to 2014 (-2.7%) Deficits Source: Congressional Budget Office. s current baseline projections show a smaller deficit in 2015 and in nearly every year of the period than the agency estimated in March. 4 The projected deficit for this year is now $60 billion below the earlier estimate; higher revenues account for nearly all of that change. The cumulative deficit from 2016 through 2025 is projected to be about $200 billion less than the March estimate. Although revenues are projected to be lower over the period than the amounts previously reported, the projections for outlays have declined even more, largely because anticipates lower interest rates and thus smaller interest payments than it did in March. The Budget Outlook for 2015 In the absence of additional legislation that would affect spending or revenues, the deficit in fiscal year 2015 will be $59 billion less than the $485 billion shortfall recorded in 2014, estimates. The deficit will be smaller because revenues, which are expected to increase by nearly 8 percent, are growing more rapidly than are outlays, which anticipates will increase by 5 percent 4. For a discussion of changes in s baseline since March 2015, see Appendix A. this year. As a percentage of GDP, in 2015, the deficit is projected to drop to 2.4 percent from last year s 2.8 percent. In most years, debt held by the public increases by an amount that is greater than the deficit, in part because of federal borrowing to finance student loans and in part because of certain other transactions that the government makes. In 2015, however, debt held by the public is projected to increase by $396 billion, an amount that is less than the deficit, as a result of steps taken by the Treasury to keep debt within its statutory limit. All in all, debt held by the public will equal 73.8 percent of GDP at the end of fiscal year 2015, estimates, slightly below the 74.0 percent recorded at the end of As recently as 2007, debt held by the public was 35 percent of GDP, less than half its current mark. Outlays in 2015 Outlays are expected to increase by $171 billion this year to total $3.7 trillion. By s calculations, federal spending will equal 20.6 percent of GDP, which is above both last year s 20.3 percent and the 20.1 percent average over the past 50 years. s estimates for the three broad categories of federal spending are as follows for 2015:

16 12 AN UPDATE TO THE BUDGET AND ECONOMIC OUTLOOK: 2015 TO 2025 AUGUST 2015 Figure 1-2. Total Revenues and Outlays Projected deficits in s baseline remain about the same for the next several years but then increase as mandatory spending and interest payments rise while revenues remain essentially steady relative to gross domestic product. Percentage of Gross Domestic Product Outlays Average Outlays, 1965 to 2014 (20.1%) Actual Projected Revenues Average Revenues, 1965 to 2014 (17.4%) Source: Congressional Budget Office. Mandatory spending is estimated to rise by nearly 10 percent in nominal terms, increasing to 12.9 percent of GDP (compared with 12.2 percent in 2014). 5 Discretionary spending is anticipated to decline by about 1 percent in nominal terms, falling to 6.5 percent of GDP (compared with 6.8 percent last year). 6 Net interest spending is expected to fall by nearly 5percent in nominal terms, declining to 1.2 percent of GDP (compared with 1.3 percent in 2014). Mandatory Spending. Outlays for mandatory programs are projected to rise to $2.3 trillion this year, an increase of $199 billion from 2014 (see Table 1-2). Most mandatory spending is for the federal government s major health care programs and Social Security. Those health care programs consist of Medicare (net of premiums and other offsetting receipts); Medicaid; the Children s Health Insurance Program; and federal subsidies for health 5. Mandatory spending is governed by statutory criteria and is not normally controlled by the annual appropriation process. 6. Discretionary spending is controlled by annual appropriation acts that specify the amounts that are to be provided for a broad array of government activities, including, for example, defense, law enforcement, and transportation. insurance purchased through exchanges along with related spending. 7 By s estimate, the largest increases in net outlays, compared with spending in 2014, will be for those programs, for the government s transactions with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and for higher education. 8 That set of increases will be partially offset by increased receipts from auctions of licenses to use the electromagnetic spectrum (the proceeds of those auctions are recorded as offsets to mandatory outlays) and by reduced spending for unemployment compensation. Major Health Care Programs. Federal spending for the major health care programs will jump by $106 billion (or about 13 percent) in 2015, estimates. The largest increase will be for Medicaid outlays, which are projected 7. Related spending consists of outlays for certain grants to states, payments for risk adjustment (amounts paid to plans that attract less healthy enrollees), and payments for reinsurance (amounts paid to plans that enroll people who subsequently incur very high health care costs). Outlays for risk adjustment and reinsurance will be offset by associated revenues, resulting in no net budgetary effect. 8. Payments from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to the U.S. Treasury are recorded as reductions in outlays. expects that payments from the two entities will be smaller this year than they were last year, thereby boosting outlays.

17 CHAPTER ONE AN UPDATE TO THE BUDGET AND ECONOMIC OUTLOOK: 2015 TO to increase by $49 billion (or 16 percent) this year, largely because of new enrollees added through the optional expansion of coverage authorized by the Affordable Care Act (ACA). As a result, projects, Medicaid enrollment will rise by between 5 percent and 10 percent in In addition, the provisions of the ACA that led to the increased enrollment will be in place for all of the current fiscal year; because they took effect in January 2014, they were in place for just nine months of fiscal year Similarly, estimates that outlays for subsidies that help eligible people to purchase health insurance through exchanges, as well as related spending, will increase by $22 billion in 2015, to $37 billion. That growth largely reflects a significant increase in the number of people who have purchased coverage through the exchanges as well as the fact that subsidies for that coverage will be available for the entire fiscal year. (Last year the subsidies did not become available until three months into the fiscal year.) In 2015, spending for Medicare (net of premiums and other offsetting receipts) will rise by $35 billion, or about 7 percent, expects the fastest rate of growth recorded for the program since 2009 (after adjustments are made for shifts in the timing of certain payments). Part of that increase reflects the fact that certain provisions of the ACA that reduced the rate of growth in Medicare spending have been implemented already. Those provisions will continue to constrain Medicare spending, but to roughly the same extent each year, so they are no longer reducing its growth rate. In addition, the increase in 2015 reflects growth in the number or cost of services furnished to Medicare beneficiaries, although data are not yet available to show how much of that growth is attributable to changes in hospital admissions, physician visits, prescriptions of expensive new drugs, or other health care services. Social Security. Outlays for Social Security benefits are projected to climb by $37 billion, or 4.4 percent, this year, which is about the same rate of growth as in That increase includes the effects of the 1.7 percent costof-living adjustment that beneficiaries received in January and of an estimated 1.8 percent increase in the number of beneficiaries. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. estimates that payments to the U.S. Treasury from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will be $52 billion less than they were in Such payments, which are recorded as reductions in outlays (rather than as revenues), totaled $74 billion in 2014 but will fall to $23 billion in That drop is partly attributable to a onetime revaluation of certain tax assets held by Freddie Mac, which boosted its payments to the Treasury by nearly $24 billion in fiscal year In addition, financial institutions are expected to make fewer payments to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in 2015 to settle allegations of fraud in connection with residential mortgages and certain other securities. The result is that the two entities profits will be smaller this year, as will their remittances to the Treasury. Higher Education. Mandatory outlays for higher education were $12 billion in 2014 but are expected to be positive by $21 billion this year. Such outlays include subsidies for federal student loans issued in the current year, revisions to the subsidy costs for loans made in previous years, and mandatory spending for the Federal Pell Grant Program. Outlays for 2014 were negative because the estimated subsidy costs of those loans were negative that is, over the lifetime of the loans, the amounts the government expects to receive will be greater than the payments the government is expected to make, as measured on a discounted present-value basis. 9 Outlays in 2015 are projected to be positive, mostly because the Department of Education recorded a revision to the subsidy costs for past loans that resulted in an $18 billion increase for 2015 (the 2014 revision totaled $1 billion). In addition, the department is applying subsidy rates in 2015 that are less negative than those used in 2014 to estimate the costs of new loans. Spectrum Auctions. Under current law, the Federal Communications Commission occasionally auctions licenses for commercial use of the electromagnetic spectrum. The auctions receipts are recorded as reductions in mandatory outlays rather than as revenues collected by the federal 9. Under the Federal Credit Reform Act, a program s subsidy costs are calculated by subtracting the discounted present value of the government s projected receipts from the discounted present value of its projected payments. The estimated subsidy costs can be increased or decreased in subsequent years to reflect updated assessments of the payments and receipts associated with the program. Present value is a single number that expresses a flow of current and future income (or payments) in terms of an equivalent lump sum received (or paid) today. The present value depends on the rate of interest (the discount rate) that is used to translate future cash flows into current dollars.

19 CHAPTER ONE AN UPDATE TO THE BUDGET AND ECONOMIC OUTLOOK: 2015 TO Table 1-2. Mandatory Outlays Projected in s Baseline Billions of Dollars Source: Congressional Budget Office. Notes: Data on spending for benefit programs in this table generally exclude administrative costs, which are discretionary. Continued MERHCF = Department of Defense Medicare-Eligible Retiree Health Care Fund (including TRICARE for Life); n.a. = not applicable. a. Gross spending, excluding the effects of Medicare premiums and other offsetting receipts. (Net spending for Medicare and for major health care programs is included in the memorandum section of the table.) b. Subsidies for health insurance purchased through the exchanges established under the Affordable Care Act. Related spending consists of outlays for certain grants to states, payments for risk adjustments (amounts paid to plans that attract less healthy enrollees), and payments for reinsurance (amounts paid to plans that enroll individuals who subsequently incur very high health costs). Outlays for risk adjustment and reinsurance will be offset by associated revenues, resulting in no net budgetary effect. c. Includes outlays for the American Opportunity Tax Credit and other credits. Total Actual, Offsetting Receipts Medicare h ,520 Federal share of federal employees' retirement Social Security Military retirement Civil service retirement and other Subtotal Receipts related to natural resources MERHCF Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac g n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. Other Subtotal ,270-2,881 Total Mandatory Outlays 2,099 2,297 2,491 2,554 2,623 2,783 2,939 3,101 3,328 3,459 3,586 3,852 13,390 30,716 Memorandum: Mandatory Spending Excluding the Effects of Offsetting Receipts 2,380 2,565 2,718 2,800 2,881 3,047 3,213 3,391 3,637 3,780 3,919 4,210 14,659 33,597 Spending for Medicare Net of Offsetting Receipts ,011 3,130 7,537 Spending for Major Health Care Programs Net of Offsetting Receipts i ,031 1,069 1,093 1,179 1,248 1,325 1,447 1,500 1,550 1,693 5,620 13,136 d. Includes the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, the Child Support Enforcement program, the Child Care Entitlement program, and other programs that benefit children. e. Includes Civil Service, Foreign Service, Coast Guard, and smaller retirement programs as well as annuitants health care benefits. f. Income security includes veterans compensation, pensions, and life insurance programs. Other benefits are primarily education subsidies. The costs of veterans health care are classified as discretionary spending and thus are not shown in this table. g. The cash payments from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to the U.S. Treasury are recorded as offsetting receipts in 2014 and Beginning in 2016, s estimates reflect the net lifetime costs that is, the subsidy costs adjusted for market risk of the guarantees that those entities will issue and of the loans that they will hold. counts those costs as federal outlays in the year of issuance. h. Includes premium payments, recoveries of overpayments made to providers, and amounts paid by states from savings on Medicaid s prescription drug costs. i. Consists of outlays for Medicare (net of offsetting receipts), Medicaid, the Children s Health Insurance Program, and subsidies for health insurance purchased through exchanges and related spending.

20 16 AN UPDATE TO THE BUDGET AND ECONOMIC OUTLOOK: 2015 TO 2025 AUGUST 2015 Table 1-3. Discretionary Spending Projected in s Baseline Billions of Dollars Source: Congressional Budget Office. Notes: s baseline projections incorporate the assumption that the caps on discretionary budget authority and the automatic spending reductions specified in the Budget Control Act of 2011 (as amended) remain in effect through Nondefense discretionary outlays are usually higher than budget authority because of spending from the Highway Trust Fund and the Airport and Airway Trust Fund that is subject to obligation limitations set in appropriation acts. The budget authority for such programs is provided in authorizing legislation and is not considered discretionary. n.a. = not applicable. Actual, a Budget Authority Defense ,087 6,567 Nondefense ,704 5,754 Total 1,134 1,116 1,105 1,130 1,156 1,185 1,215 1,243 1,274 1,305 1,338 1,371 5,791 12,321 Outlays Defense ,025 6,413 Nondefense ,003 6,299 Total 1,179 1,162 1,176 1,186 1,195 1,222 1,249 1,276 1,310 1,336 1,362 1,400 6,028 12,712 Memorandum: Caps in the Budget Control Act (As Amended), Including Automatic Reductions to the Caps Defense n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. 2,746 n.a. Nondefense n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. 2,585 n.a. Total 1,012 1,014 1,017 1,040 1,064 1,091 1,119 1,145 n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. 5,331 n.a. Adjustments to the Caps b Defense n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. 341 n.a. Nondefense n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. 119 n.a. Total n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. 460 n.a. a. The amount of budget authority for 2015 in s baseline does not match the sum of the spending caps plus adjustments to the caps mostly because changes to mandatory programs included in the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act of 2015 were credited against the caps; in s baseline, those changes (which reduced mandatory budget authority) appear in their normal mandatory accounts. b. Such adjustments include funding for overseas contingency operations, activities designated as emergency requirements, disaster relief (up to certain limits), and certain efforts to reduce overpayments in benefit programs. Total in 2014 and will fall to $33 billion in 2015, estimates, in part because a falling unemployment rate has led fewer people to claim regular benefits and partly because the authority to pay emergency benefits expired at the end of December 2013, the end of the first quarter of fiscal year Discretionary Spending. anticipates that outlays from annual appropriations will total nearly $1.2 trillion in 2015 $17 billion less than last year (see Table 1-3). Most of that difference is attributable to a drop in defense spending: Defense outlays, which amounted to $596 billion in 2014, will fall by $14 billion (or about 2 percent), to $583 billion, according to s calculations, marking the fourth consecutive year in which such spending has declined. Most of that change will result from a decline of roughly $20 billion this year in spending for overseas contingency operations, primarily in

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